


A is for Alicanto

by HomeForImaginaryFriends



Series: The A,B,Cs of Mythical Creatures and Monsters [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Dragons, M/M, Magic, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mythology - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 15:00:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14059470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HomeForImaginaryFriends/pseuds/HomeForImaginaryFriends
Summary: Daichi searches through the long and winding miner tunnels underneath the town for two lost teens when he stumbles upon something worth much more than gold.





	A is for Alicanto

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kath (KathWolfie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KathWolfie/gifts).



> On tumblr Kath requested Alicanto+MatsuDai and I am so glad you did! I find writing stories with Daichi the easiest and this was such a joy to write!
> 
> Feel free to drop by and offer up a mythical creature+ship on tumblr (or here!)  
> http://thatishogwash.tumblr.com/

Daichi whistled softly as he made his way through the dark tunnels of the mine, holding out his torch before him.  His gift wasn’t an extravagant one like those who were born with incredible strength or the ability to control the weather.  Daichi’s gift was that of direction, he could never get lost even if he was struck blind. He was search and rescue, though his day job was much more mundane than that.  He was a Vet Tech at the town's only Veterinary clinic and animal shelter.

 

The town was surrounded by thick woods with a vast old mining shaft running beneath the surface.  Most locals knew enough not to go into the old miner caves ro to wander too far off the trails in the woods but sometimes travellers did not know as well.  Sometimes kids dared each other to go into the caves or spend a night there because they were supposedly haunted. When those situations arose, which wasn’t very often, Daichi was called in to search for them.

 

This time it was some kids trying to prove they were brave.  When Daichi had heard the news he had instantly thought of Shouyou and Tobio, those two young kids were always causing trouble throughout the entire town with their gifts.  Shouyou had developed much later than most did, it was common to get your gift around the age of five but Shouyou had been fifteen when his appeared. It meant he had no time to gain control of it as the rest of those in his age group did and it ran wildly from spectacular power to fizzing out to nearly nothing.  Tobio’s own gift was sure to land him fame and fortune, if he got his poor attitude under control that was.

 

This time it ended up being Tadashi and Shouyou that went into the caves.  Kei had been the one to tell, though a nervous Hitoka hovering around him was clearly the reason he had roused himself enough to care.

 

So Daichi had gotten the okay from the vet, it was a slow day at the clinic anyways and Daichi had spent most of his morning dolling out baths to the shelter animals and letting them outside to work off some energy.  The other vet tech, Kentarou, and the vet, Makoto, could handle anything that came their way.

 

The mining tunnels were a dangerous place but Daichi had long since lost his trepidation towards them.  He had been mapping them out since he was a kid, when his own bravery had been tested. Since he had done the very same thing as kids these days were doing, he couldn’t really lecture them.  It didn’t stop him from giving them a stern talking to as they made their way out of the caves, and usually after a talk from him they never went near the caves again. But this was Shouyou’s third time needing rescue from the caves.  Shouyou was rambunctious and sometimes missed instructions because he got over excited, but he never purposefully disobeyed anyone.

 

A whistling tweet answered back Daichi’s own whistling before a spot of gold could be seen in the distance.  Daichi smiled as he put out his arm so the falcon-sized bird could land safely on his protected forearm. The bird tweeted at him excitedly, shifting up and down his arm as Daichi laughed and dug into his bag.

 

“I’m getting it, patience.”  Daichi said softly before pulling out a treat for the golden bird.

 

Daichi knew the legends of the Alicanto.  Miners use to try and follow them sneakily because they believed the bird could lead them to a treasure but the Alicanto was no ordinary bird and would lead the miners instead to sudden cliff.  Daichi had no idea if either of those legends were true, the treasure or the cliffs, since he had never tried to follow the golden bird back to her nest. Mostly he just brought her treats when he was searching for lost folk and she settled on his shoulder for the journey, occasionally chirping at him or nipping softly at his ear or hair.

 

Daichi came to a fork in the tunnel and went to turn left but the Alicanto nipped at his ear before spreading her wing, as if pointing to the right.  Daichi mentally shrugged and continued onto the right. She had never chosen to help before but she did tend to stay away from most humans, maybe she had been intrigued by Shouyou.

 

Something whispered along the back of Daichi’s mind and he came to a sudden stop before pointing his torch downwards.  Several steps away was a sheer drop and Daichi gave the bird on his shoulder a disappointed look.

“I thought we were friends.”  Daichi stated before turning back the way he came.  The Alicanto nipped at his ear once more, managed to pull out a few strands of hair as Daichi tried to shrug her off.  She flew away and landed on what looked to be the cliff.

 

Daichi frowned as he stepped closer, pointing his torch at the inky blackness that would certainly kill anyone who fell down it.  But the Alicanto looked like she was standing on solid ground.

 

Daichi kneeled down and gathered some dirt in his free hand before tossing it over the mouth of the wide cavern.  Instead of falling through like it should have, it rested on something.

 

“Magic?”  Daichi mumbled to himself, reaching out to touch it.  An illusion most likely. The entire area felt solid though his eyes told him a different story.

 

The Allicanto hopped over to his searching hand before tapping a talon onto the solid ground.  If Tadashi and Shouyou had discovered that it was merely an illusion, would they have walked over it?  His first thought was no. Both of them wilted in confrontations and were nervous creatures by nature but Daichi’s instinct whispered yes, they would have.  He had seen glimpses of the men both would become.

 

With a put upon sigh that was meant to disguise his own fear, Daichi stood up and slowly put his foot down.  His brain screamed at him to stop because no matter what he had seen and felt with his hand, his eyes were telling him it was a very long fall down.  But his foot met hard ground and he continued on, albeit at a much slower pace until he was across the gaping hole.

 

The Alicanto went back to her perch on Daichi’s shoulder, pressing her head against his head as if to apologize for pulling out his hair earlier.  Daichi pet her gently, his own apology for not trusting her when she had given him no reason to think she had any ill will up to this point.

 

Sound travelled very well in the caves, it was why so many thought it was haunted.  A rock falling from the ceiling could be heard from the entrance and many suspected the wind that travelled through the tunnels sounded like moans of the undead.  There had been a cave collapse back in the 1830’s where one miner had failed to make it out in time but stories had escalated from then.

 

Daichi heard Tadashi and Shouyou before he saw them, though the noises were almost eerie the way they travelled through the tunnels.  He was going to knock their heads together when he found them, and then he’d make them apologize to poor Hitoka who was near tears the last time he saw her.

 

Daichi rounded a corner and came to a complete standstill at the vast cave before him.  He had never been to this part of the tunnels and now he understood why someone would cast an illusion over the only way in or out.

 

The cave was overflowing with treasure.  It looked like something straight out of a movie with hills bigger than Daichi of rolling gold and silver.  The Alicanto took off from his shoulder, shaking him out of his reverie and he wondered if this was why Shouyou had been so insistent on coming back to the tunnels.

 

When he was younger, Daichi had very little need for the treasure in the stories of old.  Now older he needed it even less. He had a small house with a big yard, four rescued dogs and two rescued cats along with two turtles.  His job provided him with sufficient funds to live on and to take care of his animals. He had enough friends and family for his life to feel full and the town respected and trusted him.

 

Even though he felt that way he couldn’t help but think of the sheer possibilities that could be done with the treasure.  How many animals he could help, he could help fund every animal rescue in Japan with a quarter of the treasure in this room.

 

“What about this?”  Shouyou’s question broke Daichi’s train of thought and he carefully made his way around the mounds of treasure to see both young men together.  Shouyou was holding out a sword that looked made completely of gold to Tadashi, who’s face was red with exertion.

 

“Nothing is cutting through it, do you know how to pick a lock?”  Tadashi asked, wiping sweat off his forehead with a dirty hand, managing to smear dirt over his face in the process.

 

When Daichi stepped closer he could see that they were not trying to break into a chest of any kind but break off a set of shackles.  A set of shackles on a very alive creature.

 

“What are you two doing?”  Daichi asked, his voice booming in the large cave.  Both teens jumped and turned to look at Daichi with a healthy amount of fear and guilt on their faces.

 

“It’s my fault!”  Tadashi spoke quickly, his voice shaking even as he stood up straighter.  Daichi was always a little put off about how most of the teens, those 10 years his junior, were taller than him though he retained that he was a perfectly acceptable height!  “I kept having um- dreams? Something kept telling me to come down here but I was too scared.” Tadashi had the gift of foresight though mostly it dealt with the near future.

 

Daichi stepped closer to the teens, who looked like they were trying to put their bodies in front of the creature behind them.  Daichi moved them aside easily enough before sharply inhaling at what laid on the ground.

 

They looked humanoid in shape with two legs and arms, though they were long and lean with a mess of curly black hair.  They also had a long teal tail, clawed fingers, and scales running up the sides of their exposed torso and neck. Dark eyes blinked up at Daichi but didn’t look as if they saw him at all.

 

The Alicanto flew down, landing near the shackled creature and whistled softly as she nudged the creatures head, carefully avoiding the two curved horns.

 

“If you tell anyone I know how to do this, I will lead you into the deepest part of the tunnels and leave you there.”  Daichi threatened as he reached out to snag a golden pin decorated with huge jewels. He gathered a couple other small pointed objects, breaking them when needed before he set to work on the shackles.  They were gray, dull looking in the sea of jewels and gold. The metal felt ice cold under his hands and he thought they must be magicked somehow.

 

Everyone knew and mostly accepted that humans weren’t exactly alone on this world.  Roughly 70% of the world had developed gifs like Daichi’s directional gift or Tadashi’s foresight but they were small magic compared to legends and myths.  Every once and a while a new story emerged of someone spotting a Yokai or encountering a Spirit but nothing was ever substantial.

 

Daichi knew the creature before him was not human and whoever, or whatever, had put an illusion on the tunnels and cast a spell on the shackles was most likely not human either.  It was stupid to purposely put himself in the middle of it but just like he couldn’t pass a street dog without taking it him, he couldn’t leave the creature there.

 

One shackle snapped off and Daichi began working on the other.  The movement seemed to catch the attention of the caught creature and Daichi held his breath, hoping that they were turn out to be one of the good guys of myth and legends and not one of the ones who had been locked away because they ate babies.  Daichi did not want to be responsible for releasing a creature that ate babies.

 

“Whoa!  You can pick-” Tadashi immediately shushed Shouyou up as Daichi shot a glare at both of them.

 

“If it was something this serious, you should have sought out the help of an adult instead of rushing in here bullheaded.”  Daichi lectured as the second shackle on the creatures wrist was released. The skin beneath was rubbed raw, the scales along the side dulled and cracked.  Daichi always carried around a first aid kit when he was on a search and rescue mission. He was a vet tech but he knew basic first aid for humans. He put on a cooling agent on the raw wrists and wrapped them gently before moving onto their ankles.  The creature hadn’t moved much and Daichi wondered how long they had been stuck down here.

 

“We’re sorry.”  Both teens chirped out and he saw them bow deeply out of the corner of his eye.  He sighed but couldn’t really find fault in them. He could imagine himself and his teenage friends doing the same when they were that age.  Adults had a habit of brushing off kids worries and concerns. He promised to listen better once they got out of there.

 

“There we go.”  Daichi said softly after he had completely freed the creature and wrapped his ankles too.  He stood up and looked around before pointing over to the right. “Go grab those two spears.”  They were made of gold but they would do for now. He pulled out a blanket and set about making a makeshift stretcher using the spears.  Daichi could carry the creature out on his back but he didn’t want to hurt him anymore than he already was.

 

With the help of the two teens and some soft words that Daichi hoped were comforting, they all put the creature onto the stretcher and Daichi made the teens carry him as he led the way.  The golden bird flew back onto Daichi’s shoulder, chirping happily at him as they walked out of the wide cavern full of treasure.

 

The hidden cave was surprisingly close to the entrance of the miners tunnels so it wasn’t long before they were back out in the fresh air.  The Alicanto gave a final tweet of farewell before flying back into the tunnel.

 

Daichi slowed his steps so he could walk beside the stretcher, rubbing the back of his neck as he wondered what to do with the creature.  No one in town was equipped to help him. Daichi wasn’t sure if anyone even knew what he was. Daichi’s mind kept supplying dragon but that was ridiculous, wasn’t it?

 

Or was it?  They did find him in a cave surrounded by treasure.  He did have a tail, claws, horns and was partially covered in scales.

 

“Put him down.”  Daichi instructed.  Tadashi and Shouyou put the spears down with heavy breaths.  They were strong and quick for their age but they were still developing teens.  “Run into town and get Suga and Asahi. Be quick about it.” Daichi knelt down next to the creature as the teens ran to do what he said.

 

Daichi dug in his pack once more, searching for his water and bringing it out with slight triumph.  As Daichi was unscrewing the cap a hand gripped his wrist, making him inhale sharply as he followed the clawed fingers up a long and muscular forearm that led to dark eyes staring at him with much more clarity than when he was in the cave.

 

“Hello.”  Daichi tried carefully, not moving as the creature pulled himself into a seated position, fingers still wrapped firmly around Daichi’s wrist.  It didn’t hurt but those clawed fingertips worried Daichi.

 

“You freed me.”  The creatures voice was deep and stoic, it sent shivers through Daichi.

 

“Yes.”  Daichi confirmed and just to prove he was a sentient creature with full conversation capabilities, continued to speak.  “Please don’t eat any babies.” The creature blinked several times at Daichi, who wanted to crawl back into the cave and spend the rest of his days there out of sheer embarrassment.

 

Then something amazing happened.

 

The creatures serious face broke out into a grin before he was leaning over and  _ laughing _ .  Daichi stared at him with wide eyes, saw the sharp canines and the teal scales covering his bare back, watched his dark eyes dance with amusement and Daichi felt his body do something it had never done before.  He full body blushed, every inch of him warming as the creature laughed at him.

 

“I will not eat any babies, only because you wish it.”  Something of a smirk graced the creatures noticeably handsome features.  Now that he was out in the fresh air with the sun shining down on him, he looked like he was gaining more life.  “I am Issei, thank you for rescuing me. I have been stuck down there for a while now and I didn’t think I would ever escape.”  His thumb brushed lightly against the inside of Daichi’s wrist. He had no idea how sensitive that part of his body was until a gentle pressure was applied there and he felt his heart jump in response.

 

“Daichi, that’s me.”  Daichi wanted to groan at himself but he plowed on despite what an embarrassment he was.  “And it was really Tadashi and Shouyou who rescued you, I just came looking for them.” He said truthfully, causing Issei’s thin lips to curve gently upwards.

 

“You are so honest.”  Issei leaned closer to Daichi.

 

“You’re looking much better now.”  Daichi stated because he was. The color was returning to him in both skin and scales.  Issei turned his head to the side slightly as his eyes traced over Daichi’s face.

 

“My kind gain power from the sun.”  Issei said truthfully, which made sense as to why he had perked up the moment they left the cave.

 

“Are you still in danger from who ever trapped you down there?”  Daichi asked, shoulders stiffening at thought. He told himself it was just his natural protective instincts, he felt that way towards animals and almost everyone he met.

 

“If I am will you protect me, Sir Knight Daichi?”  Issei asked, lips curving up into something that was closer to a smirk than a smile but still made Daichi’s heart race.  He knew it was silly, clearly in power this creature won out over Daichi but it didn’t stop him from nodding his head.

 

The smirk disappeared from Issei’s face at Daichi’s nod, his determination to keep Issei safe no matter what logic said that Daichi had no defense against actual magic.  Issei studied Daichi’s face before leaning in, lips brushing against Daichi’s so softly he second guessed if it actually happened. That was more than just a kiss, he could feel magic brushing against him as Issei stared deep into his eyes, as if he could see Daichi’s very soul.

 

“Ahem.”  Someone cleared their throat causing Daichi to jump and look to his left.  “Are we interrupting something?” Only Suga could see a magical creature for the first time smooching his best friend and think of something snarky to say.

 

“Yes.”  Issei said in a deadpan voice, making Suga sputter and laugh as Asahi looked between laughter and fear.

 

Daichi felt as if his safe little life with the occasional search and rescue was coming to an end and with Issei’s warm grip on his wrist, he couldn’t really find it in himself to dislike that.


End file.
